Category Archives: Educational

The contents of a database are truly priceless, which is why many companies back them up on more than one server and why keeping the contents up to date and correct is essential. A mobile database, compiled of cell phone numbers, names, birthdates, zip codes, and personal interests, is extremely valuable and can help you reach your customers in a more effective way.

So how do you ensure you’ll get loads of people into your database and ensure the information you receive is valuable and correct? Great question. The answer is, by getting all of your employees on board with the initiative. They not only have to understand the process of taking the information, they also need to understand the VALUE of it.

Steve Madden’s recent mobile database success is a great example of this. They had a mobile campaign that encouraged consumers to text in JOINSTEVE to the Madden short code for the chance to win $100 Steve Madden gift card. When joining, consumers were prompted to answer questions regarding their interests.

For the average American man, the Super Bowl is a symbol of athleticism, team work, and also a great time to make some side cash betting on whether the Packers will beat the Steelers. For the average American women, the Super Bowl is a great excuse for a party that everyone is sure to attend, and a chance to swap cheese dip recipes. For marketers, the Super Bowl exists solely as a basis for the wonderful commercials and ad campaigns that go along side it.

Pepsi understands this, and had developed a multichannel mobile campaign for the event in order to capitalize on the number of eyes glued to the game. According to Mobile Marketer, the campaign included a mobile website, an application for smart phone users, a scan able QR code for a Pepsi coupon, and an SMS experience. All of these initiatives were publicized on all pieces of advertisement.

A key target group for Pepsi throughout this campaign was Latinos, a group that is accustomed to using digital media on their phones. Pepsi’s goal was to engage them in the Pepsi Super Bowl experience as much as possible. There was actually a specific site made for Latinos in Spanish, and a call to action keyword labeled “FAMILIA”. For those that opted in to the keyword in Dallas, six had a chance to win tickets to the Super Bowl.

New findings from a Nielsen & Yahoo study find a previously undiscovered, strong connection between the mobile phone and eating out. The facts are quite interesting and important, particularly for popular restaurant chains, and they also shed light on the amount of distance that people will travel for a good deal on a meal.

The demographic used within this study was 34 million Americans who seek information about restaurant deals on their mobile phones. This population is skewed with a majority falling within the ages of 13-34. A surprising 58 percent of these people live in the suburbs, highlighting an opportunity for restaurants outside the city limits. Incomes for this population were on average $87K USD, and the majority is classified as married. Forty-one percent have one or more children in their house. (Mediapost)

The positive finding within this study is that 34 percent of respondents saw a dining ad or coupon on their phone, and 77 percent of these people sometimes or always looked at it.

In school, marketers learn a variety of different promotional channels they can potentially use to reach their customers. Traditional channels include T.V., radio, billboard, telemarketing, and newspaper. With T.V., you can really only estimate the number of people that will actually see your ad, and nowadays with TiVo and new ways to avoid commercials, the intended effect of your ad diminishes further. Radio, where it’s also hard to calculate the number of listeners that truly engage with an ad, is still a pretty viable marketing channel, one that mixes quite easily with mobile actually. Billboard? Same as radio. Marketing educators now need to get with the times and update their curriculums to include online and mobile advertising.

Within online and mobile advertising, there are different categories and the effectiveness and reach of each of these varies. Take online for example. You can be online on your computer, laptop, or mobile phone. And each of these marketing channels will need a different approach to make sure consumers see your advertisements. The same goes for a mobile phone. You can either reach people by call, a text message, or online, if they have all of those features. The reality still remains that the vast majority of phones don’t have either the ability or the relevant plan to be online. However, almost all phones have the ability for you to call and text. Narrowing this down even further, a telemarketing call is a tried and tired practice. However, a permission-based text message is still warmly welcomed, and even requested, by consumers.

You can call it “mobile marketing.” Or perhaps “text message marketing.” Or even simply just “text messages.” But I bet you never thought to call it “health messages.” Regardless of the new terminology, that’s precisely what some text messages have turned into- messages containing information to help you be a healthier person.

Take the federal government for example. The White House launched a free text message campaign for expectant mothers this year called “text4baby”. Via this program, messages are sent out containing information such as health tips, appointment reminders, and recommendations for community resources, all timed to a woman’s due date. These messages continually enforce prevention, reminding pregnant women to make prenatal care a top priority. (Find out more at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/07/free-text4baby-service-moms-and-moms-be-growing-fast .)